In the new era of education, the integration of technology and innovation is reshaping traditional teaching models. The “Basic Teaching Skills and the Integration and Application of AIGC Intelligent Courses in Primary and Secondary School Teaching” art discipline training project, jointly held by the Beijing Education Society and Beijing Electronic Technology Vocational College, vividly reflects this transformation.

1. AIGC Technology: Opening a New Era in Art Education

AIGC technology, as a revolutionary force in the field of AI, is profoundly changing the realm of art education. It not only greatly expands the boundaries of artistic creation but also provides students with an unprecedented perspective to understand the essence of art. Through this technology, abstract concepts and complex emotions can be intuitively displayed, promoting a deeper understanding of art.

AIGC, or generative artificial intelligence content, marks the leap from AI 1.0 to 2.0 era, with its core being the integrated application of deep learning models such as GANs, VAEs, and RNNs, which can generate novel and realistic content based on vast amounts of data. In daily life, AI applications are within reach, such as using iFlytek and Wenxin Yiyan to generate copy, AI painting tools to create images in various styles, and even generating PPTs, music, and digital human live broadcasts, showcasing the broad application potential of AI. Moreover, through training AI to predict college entrance examination essays, it reflects the deep integration of AI in the education sector.

Currently, artificial intelligence has entered a rapid development stage, and we need to continuously think and practice to explore how to effectively “collaborate” with this crystallization of human wisdom to jointly promote social progress.

In practical work, people often think of AIGC as belonging to the field of information science, but I believe that leading AIGC from the perspective of art education has its unique advantages. The aesthetic ability and artistic understanding of the art discipline are generally higher than those of other subjects, and the systematic study of visual elements such as color, shape, and composition within the subject content gives them a strong sensitivity, which helps ensure the scientificity and beauty of generated content.

Aesthetic Ability Cultivation:

The core of art education is to cultivate students’ aesthetic ability. Whether the art works generated by AIGC technology possess high aesthetic value is a judgment where the art discipline holds authority. These works can be used to teach students how to appreciate and create beauty.

Deepening Artistic Understanding:

The art discipline not only teaches techniques but also emphasizes the cultural, historical, and philosophical significance behind artistic works. Through AIGC technology, students can gain a deeper understanding of the connotations of art works, thereby enhancing their artistic understanding.

Application of Light and Shadow Studies:

Knowledge of light and shadow studies in the art discipline is crucial for understanding and creating art works. How AIGC technology simulates complex light and shadow effects, and whether these effects conform to natural laws, can be judged by art teachers at the first instance. Using this, they can teach students how to observe and express light and shadow, enhancing the three-dimensionality and realism of works.

Integration of Natural Science and Art:

Knowledge of natural sciences in the art discipline, such as botany and zoology, can help students better observe and express the beauty of nature. AIGC technology can generate various scenes from nature, providing students with rich creative materials.

Balancing Scientificity and Aesthetics:

While pursuing artistic expression, the art discipline also pays attention to scientificity and logic. AIGC technology can integrate scientific knowledge from the art discipline when generating art works, ensuring that the works possess both artistic qualities and conform to the laws of the real world.

Interdisciplinary Innovative Thinking:

Art teachers often possess interdisciplinary innovative thinking, allowing them to combine AIGC technology with knowledge from physics, chemistry, and other subjects to create scientifically-based art works.

Personalized Art Education:

The art discipline emphasizes personalized education, and AIGC technology can generate personalized art works based on each student’s aesthetic preferences and creative styles, meeting their individualized learning needs.

Modernization of Art Education:

Under the guidance of AIGC technology, the art discipline can achieve the modernization of educational content and methods, enhancing the fun and interactivity of teaching, thereby attracting more students to participate in art learning.

In summary, the advantages of the art discipline in aesthetic ability and artistic understanding, as well as the mastery of knowledge in light and shadow studies and natural sciences, make it an ideal field for the popularization of AIGC technology. Art teachers can leverage these advantages to provide students with a richer, deeper, and more personalized art education experience.

2. Training Project: Deepening the Combination of Theory and Practice

This training project delves into the intersection of AIGC technology and traditional art teaching, enabling teachers to gain a comprehensive understanding of the teaching applications of AIGC technology through case analysis, practical operations, and teaching discussions. The training content covers the basic principles of AIGC technology, methods, and techniques for image generation, as well as how to integrate these technologies into classroom teaching to enhance interactivity and student participation.

1. AIGC and Course Resources

The powerful artificial intelligence technology integrates rich internet resources. In the current AI search engines, when questions are posed, AI can provide answers in a very short time. Compared with the past, where one had to open a browser, input questions, and filter answers, the efficiency of searching has improved, consequently speeding up lesson preparation. The simulation of mutual questioning between AI and humans can also be applied to courses, providing new possibilities for art classes. For example, in the case of “Dressing a Bottle in Color,” a question was posed: “Please briefly tell children what kind of decorations can make a bottle more beautiful?” In just a few seconds, AI provided up to ten suggestions and read them aloud. Such efficiency is difficult to achieve in past teaching models. During lesson preparation, teachers can find corresponding work images based on AI’s answers and integrate them into a video. Ultimately, this achieves the effect of AI reading aloud while the video plays corresponding images. I placed this in the extended section, where the fusion of images, sounds, and text greatly attracts students’ interest and expands creative thinking, providing new possibilities for post-class exploration.

2. AIGC and Teaching Forms

Artificial intelligence acts as a classroom assistant, capable of solving some problems in traditional classrooms. Nowadays, classroom teaching emphasizes the integration of “teaching-learning-assessment,” where teachers have accumulated rich experience in the first two links and are continuously innovating. However, the “assessment” link may be affected by the efficiency of equipment debugging and students’ focus and coherence. Now, with the help of artificial intelligence and information technology, teachers can use Xiwo Whiteboard to display on-site, use Mental Canvas for online exhibitions, and after class, they can communicate with students using Tencent Classroom, building a more efficient and intuitive communication platform for teachers and students. Using AIGC technology, models can be trained to generate various styles of art works. For instance, by training a dataset that includes works from different art genres, the model can learn and create new images with similar styles. The interactivity of artificial intelligence in the classroom goes far beyond this. Taking the example of “Dressing a Bottle in Color” again, AI painting tools and Midjourney can be used to personify a bottle, creating digital humans based on images and text. In the classroom, students can learn through pre-set digital human Q&A, increasing their interest and participation in learning.

3. Issues and Reflections

The incorporation of artificial intelligence can diversify classroom formats and enrich the integrated resources. However, some issues inevitably accompany this, mainly reflected in the following aspects.

1. Technical Requirements

Artificial intelligence is powerful, but as the saying goes, “every profession has its own specialty”; behind every function is a new software, which requires strong technical support across different classes, schools, and even regions. To achieve the ideal combination of artificial intelligence and education, continuous popularization and learning from multiple parties are needed.

2. Core Competencies of Students

While artificial intelligence “knows no bounds,” knowledge can be acquired through a small screen. However, cultural depth and a sense of responsibility cannot be instilled through a few strokes; the humanistic care and teaching by teachers cannot be replaced by artificial intelligence.

3. Information Selection

Whether during leisure or work, applications such as Xiaohongshu and Douyin are loved by people, even leading to obsession. Here, artificial intelligence captures interests and continuously pushes corresponding content. When students research materials, they may fall into knowledge traps and be reluctant to explore new fields. Therefore, students need some guidance before engaging in self-directed learning.

4. Ethical Control

Despite the immense potential of AIGC technology in content generation, it also faces challenges related to copyright, ethics, and quality control. Educators need to cultivate students’ critical thinking skills while utilizing these technologies.

4. Beijing Electronic Technology Vocational College: Strong Support from Technical Strength

As the technical support for this training, Beijing Electronic Technology Vocational College demonstrated its strong capabilities in the field of artificial intelligence. The college’s big data cloud computing center and advanced algorithm library provide a solid foundation for the teaching and research of AIGC technology. The college’s national-level teaching resource library and rich teaching experience provide valuable learning resources and practical platforms for teachers. Beijing Electronic Technology Vocational College has now been renamed Beijing University of Science and Technology. It is a public vocational university under the direct jurisdiction of the Beijing Municipal Education Commission, classified as a second-tier undergraduate institution.

First AIGC Teacher Training Class Classroom Scene:

Training Environment and Computing Power Center Environment:

Faculty Introduction:

The training team consists of individuals with master’s degrees or above and titles of associate professor or higher. They possess rich experience in the field of AIGC and have previously conducted in-depth AIGC content training for various institutions, including the Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone Federation of Literature and Art, Samsung China, Jiuxi Group, iFlytek, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, PLA General Hospital, Air Force General Hospital, and Shougang Hospital. With the improvement of computing power and algorithm optimization, AIGC technology is expected to become more refined and personalized. Beijing Electronic Technology College is planning to collaborate with the Art Department of Beijing Education College to conduct experimental exploration on “AIGC tools generating customized teaching content based on students’ personal preferences and learning progress.”

1. Student Works: Applying Technology to Art Practice

2. Student Reflections: Deep Integration of Technology and Education

Li Li, an art teacher at Xinxian Hutong Primary School in Dongcheng District, Beijing: This AI technology learning experience was full of challenges and gains. Through learning and practice, I understood the knowledge and skills related to AI image generation, using model selection and parameter settings to generate virtual graphics. I deeply realized that with the continuous advancement of technology, teachers should continuously learn and keep pace with the times, using advanced technological means to assist in teaching.

Yang Han, an art teacher at the Dongba Campus of Fangcaodi International School in Chaoyang District, Beijing: Through AI painting, I feel like I have grasped the switch to magic. With just a simple description, it can generate different images from my imagination. This technology not only enhances creative efficiency but also showcases unlimited creative possibilities. With AI’s assistance, each image feels like opening a blind box with different themes, full of surprises and unknowns. Although it lacks the warmth of an artist, AI painting undoubtedly brings new perspectives and sources of inspiration to artistic creation. Furthermore, AI painting can add color to regular art classes. With AI’s generation, different styles and types of images are presented in a very short time, improving students’ learning efficiency and reducing the time and difficulty of internet searches. Teachers and students can train AI to generate more complete works based on rough images or reference images in their minds.

Zhan Kaidi, an art teacher at Shunyi Branch of Fuxue Hutong Primary School: I thank Teacher Yang for the organization and Teacher Du for the explanation. The AIGC course in artificial intelligence seems to have taken me into a new world full of unknowns and explorations. The teachers’ explanations were clear and insightful, giving me a clearer understanding of artificial intelligence. I learned that artificial intelligence is not just a lofty technological term; it is a practical technology closely related to our lives. From smart homes to autonomous driving, from medical diagnosis to educational teaching, as teachers, we should also keep pace with the times. Artificial intelligence can help teachers reduce their teaching burden, improve teaching efficiency, and make education more effective and interesting. The artificial intelligence course has deepened my understanding and knowledge of AI. I look forward to continuing to explore this mysterious and fascinating field in the future, bringing more convenience and surprises to our lives.

3. Future Outlook: Infinite Possibilities of Intelligent Education

With the continuous development and improvement of AIGC technology, we have reason to believe that it will play an increasingly important role in art education and the entire education sector. Through the successful holding of this training project, we see the broad prospects for the deep integration of intelligent technology and education, and we hope that more educators can grasp this trend and jointly promote the innovative development of education.

4. Conclusion

The “Basic Teaching Skills and the Integration and Application of AIGC Intelligent Courses in Primary and Secondary School Teaching” training project not only enhanced teachers’ professional skills but also pointed the direction for the future development of art education. With the continuous advancement of technology and the deepening of educational innovation, we look forward to AIGC technology playing a role in a broader educational field, making greater contributions to cultivating students with innovative spirit and practical abilities.